Safe and Sound
by Birdflame
Summary: Hisa is an orphan. Has been for a year and has grown accustomed to life on the streets of the Fire Nation. One day she makes what seems to be a fatal mistake and makes her life turn for the worse, but could that mistake have been the best thing that happened to her? T for violence. OC x Zuko.
1. Hisa's Introduction

**Greetings, you who hath decided to read my story. I hope you enjoy this**

 **I do not own ALTA.**

* * *

 _For those out on the streets, life isn't very easy. It never has been, and never will until they get off or it, which frankly isn't very likely. Everyday it's the same old thing in a new set of circumstances. Steal food, steal some water or something to drink, more food, maybe some bronze coins if you're lucky enough to get that, something that rarely ever happens for us, and pretty much just steal._

 _All we do is try to delay the inevitable. Every single day of my rotten life I ask myself, Well, Hisa, is this going to be the day that you finally starve? Will this be the day you finally freeze?_

 _It's kind of hard for a Nonbender to stay warm out here if you haven't noticed, even in the temperamental climate of the Fire Nation._

 _Who am I? Well, I guess that if you're going to be peeking in on my life, you should at least know my name. I'm Hisa, and this is my story._

* * *

It was a cold day, which was really saying something. Not exactly snowing cold, I actually don't think that it has snowed a single time in the history of the Fire Nation, but dreary, rainy, numbing cold. I was curled under my dumpster, trying to deny the fact that it actually was morning. I only had one blanket, a pretty ratty, ragged one. I kept my eyes pressed shut tightly, struggling to get back to sleep.

Unfortunately, like all things, the cold got to me. I opened my brown eyes with a frustrated groan and stretched, wincing at the stiffness in my limbs, and attempted to run a hand through my hair. I managed to get my fingers a few inches before the knots got too much and kept them from going through it any further. I remained sprawled out on the hard, gravelly stone for a few minutes, trying to get the rest of me to actually wake up. My right arm twitched as a spasm of pins and needles seized it. Apparently I'd slept on it funny and by doing so, all the blood had left it, so now it was simply rushing back in with its very painful way. I gritted my teeth and simply waited for it to return to normal.

As the smart in my arm started to die down, I planned what I would do. There was an amazing place not all that far away that sold komodo chicken and rice. The only problem was their security system, and they knew me well, but surely they couldn't get mad at me if I only took what was from the garbage can, right? No one else wanted it anymore.

I rolled out from under my home, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. My pale skin was streaked with dirt and absolutely filthy, but underneath that was a nice tan. I had jet black hair that was always in a tangled mess, considering I didn't have any of the normal tools to keep it straight. For a twelve year old, I was pretty tall, able to touch the top of a window without really even trying. My clothes were really just rags that were starting to fall apart; I'd have to steal some new ones soon.

To say the least, I stood out like a sore thumb.

Stuffing my hands into the things that didn't really even deserve to be called pockets anymore, I trudged through the rain toward my target food joint, the water washing off the dirt from my skin. I knew it was only a matter of time before it settled back on again. It was just the way things went. There weren't too many people out, and those who were hurried right on by me without paying me a second glance. The conditions were perfect for me.

It was really easy to just sneak around the back of the restaurant, considering the fact that no one really went around there except to throw things away. I carefully opened one of the cans. The first thing that greeted me was a box, slightly crumpled with some sauce on it, but mostly intact. Naturally, I wanted to see what was inside it. After taking it out slowly, I opened the top easily. Inside it was simply a heap of komodo chicken smothered in the sauce. Granted it was half eaten, but I had never been so lucky in he entire time I've been out here. I immediately dug into it, shoving it into my mouth as if I was trying to fit as much as physically possible in at it at one time. Manners weren't that of a concern to me.

I was almost finished when I couldn't help but look over the crest of the hill that the restaurant was located on. There were buildings before it just abruptly stopped, going into rolling hills of its own. Most of them were hidden by clouds and raindrops, but there was a looming figure just visible. Everyone knew it, even me. It was Piandao's castle.

Who was Piandao? Only the most renowned swordmaster in all four nations! He was amazing, as well as rich.

 _Rich. . . . Hmmm. . . ._ I had never actually thought of trying to rob him, or really anyone, but now I felt as if it was really my only choice. Immediately all sorts of plans started filling my head. Without another word, I finished up the komodo chicken and walked away.


	2. Jail Bird

**Siron Lannor:** Thank you! :)

 **Disclaimer - I still don't own ATLA.**

* * *

As I walked, I planned.

First I'd have to get in unnoticed, which should be the hard part. I knew the castle was surrounded by some thick walls, and I wasn't an Earthbender, but I also knew that I could do it. I'd climbed plenty of things before. I could handle this. I'd just climb up the wall. Easy enough. At least, it certainly sounded easy in foresight. I had a feeling that it would just be plain stupid in hindsight, but it was the only thing that I could realistically do. For not the first time, I cursed myself for not being a Bender of anything, for being a simple Nonbender with no purpose, nothing extraordinary about me. . . . It was enough to make someone's self-confidence and self-esteem plummet.

At this point, I was almost to the castle. I started jogging, easily keeping my footing on the muddy pathway. There were enjoy rocks in it to help me keep my footing, so it wasn't exactly that hard to stay upright. I pushed my wet hair out of my face and skidded to a halt outside the gate. I looked up, blinking against the raindrops, my mouth gaping open wide as I tried to see the top of it. Maybe climbing the wall was a bad idea, especially with how wet the stones must've been.

So what did I do? I grabbed the elegant golden knockers on the doors of the gate and started pounding them furiously against the wood, hoping someone would answer it. Sure enough, a short ten seconds later, if that, the doors opened, revealing the face of a man, probably a butler from the way he held himself. His graying black hair was slick against his head, but he didn't seem to mind that. "Excuse me, but the master isn't looking for any students, so I'd suggest - hey!"

I didn't let him finish that little suggestion, choosing instead to make my move. I ducked under his arm and into the courtyard. I was jerked to a halt for a moment when his hand closed in on the hood of my cloak, but the entire thing simply tore in two, taking some hair out with it. The only sound I made from it was a squeak of pain, but I didn't stop sprinting. Stopping was the equivalent of death, or at least in my mind, and I would not die. Now I had to hide, and the best place I saw was in the castle itself. Frankly it was the most logical place that I could see anyway.

I managed to reach the door to the castle and fling it open before the butler was even halfway to it. I ducked under the couch, only just able to squeeze in the small space. From there I just had to steady my breathing and wait for the danger to pass by.

"Master Piandao! Master Piandao! There's a thief in the house!"

There was the sound of footsteps, coming quickly and none too loudly. "Where?" A deep voice asked, low, dangerous, and brimming with fury. I assumed it belonged to Piandao.

After that, there was a pause for about five seconds before the butler replied sheepishly, "I don't know. She ran away in here and simply seemed to vanish."

"Lock the gate. Check every inch of this place. Make sure that she doesn't escape." The butler ran off, but I wasn't sure what Piandao did. After a few minutes of hearing nothing, I simply assumed that he had left to try to find me somewhere else and wiggled out from under the couch.

I should've known that assumption would be the death of me. Not saying I died from it, but I thought it was about to. Wouldn't anyone think they were going to die if they stand up and a sword pokes them in the back from out of nowhere? I didn't even have to turn my head to know who it was, and I didn't even hesitate to run again. I was determined to get my prize for all of my hard work in getting in here, although dying wasn't among them. On my list, at least. Whether it was on the swordsman's was a completely different story that I didn't want to find out the hard way, or really just at all.

"Technically you can't get me since I haven't stolen anything yet!" I called over my shoulder, then mentally facepalmed from how stupid that sounded. At first Piandao wouldn't be able to persecute me at all, having no proof of what my intentions would be - sure I was suspicious, but I hadn't done anything. Now I had just told him what it was.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't get very far at all before my bare feet, still wet from the rain, slipped on the hardwood floor. I more or less faceplanted before sliding along it, my back slamming hard into the floor. I started to scramble back up, but I suddenly heard a hollow ring and felt a sudden pain in my head. I fell back to the floor, lifeless. My last conscious thought before slipping into the darkness was, _It's the end. I've failed._

* * *

The worst place to wake up in has to be prison, and I can say that accurately, having woken up in plenty of very strange and bad places. After this experience, I can add prison to that list.

My head hurt. I didn't move from my spot, not even feeling like opening my eyes, staying limp against the cold, wet metal floor. My mouth and throat felt dry from the lack of water and something itchy was tickling my head and getting in my right ear, the one toward the ground. My fingertips brushed against another piece of metal, probably a bar for my jail cell to keep me in. I could feel that it was a small cell, since my feet were pressed against wall on the far side away from the bars. The air was dry and musty, the only reason for the dampness being from the rain. And the noise. . . . I could hear the other inmates shouting, fighting, calling. They scared me.

After ten minutes of getting accustomed to my surrounding by every sense except sight, I stretched open my tired eyes. Just as I had thought, the cell was small. The only light came from the torches in the hallway. There wasn't really much in there with me, just a bucket and two bowls for food. Curious as to know what was so itchy on my head? Well, someone had roughly shoved a pillow made of burlap cloth with straw stuffed in it and shoved it under my head so that I wouldn't get neck cramps. At least someone around here was thoughtful.

With a groan, I pushed myself up, my disheveled hair falling over my face. I pushed it back behind my ear as best as I could and crawled (it was more like sliding honestly) over to the water bowl. I picked it up with one hand and tilted my head back, pressing my lips to the edge. I proceeded to tilt it back, draining it all in a single, long draft. More of the clear, delicious liquid missed my mouth and drenched my neck and shirt than actually got down my throat, but I digress.

Now, there was absolutely nothing else to do except sit there and let the butterflies do whatever.


	3. Pai Sho, Gummies, and Bad Decisions

**Notices:**

 **By the way, I'm going to update depending on how much writing muse I have and how fast I get the chapter done.**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **I don't own ATLA.**

* * *

For the record, prison life wasn't all that bad. Really the only bad things about it were some of the rowdy prisoners, the smell, and the food. Definitely the food. The chicken I'd eaten before I decided to try to rob Piandao, although found in a garbage can, was better than thiS, but at least the prison food was reliable, something I was unused to. It was also nice being able to socialize with people who didn't want to steal everything you had since they had the same as you, so that was most certainly a plus.

In the two days that I'd been there, I'd already learned the names of everyone Corridor T, my place. In the order of the hall, it was Long Silver Sting, me, Skill, Slim, and, last but definitely not least, RJ the Massacred. They were surprisingly nice fellows for convicted criminals, but you can't accurately judge a person based on their history. Usually, at least.

"Hey, Shortie, want to play some Pai Sho?"

Yep. That was me. Shortie.

"You know it, Slim." I replied, walking over to where the tall Firebender sat in the shadows of the . He was tan, twenty-one, and heavily tattooed with all sorts of designs. While I wasn't someone who was really into tattoos and all that stuff, I had to admit that his Dragon one was pretty interesting. He was a veteran in Fire Nation and put in irons for deserting. "You go first."

Slim's golden eyes glinted and he set down his first tile. I immediately mirrored his move with my own. We played like that for a few minutes, me mirroring him, until he ruined himself by making a stupid move, probably on complete accident. I seized the opportunity and sent in my tile cavalry, more or less swamping him, until even he had to admit defeat, which was something that he didn't do easily.

Slim held his hand out and we shook. "Good job, Shortie. I see Silver has been teaching you a few things."

Silver simply grunted at that. The old man had never been much of a talker, mostly because he no longer had a tongue. I'd ask him that story, but it wasn't like he could really tell me. He was incredibly smart, though, and the only reason that he was still in prison was that he really didn't want to get out anymore. Why, I didn't know.

I shrugged at the comment, flipping my lotus tile with my right thumb before catching it with that same hand. "Maybe he did, maybe he didn't and I'm just smarter than you. As I recall, you owe me three fire gummies." Fire gummies were, by far, the best candies in the whole nation. Slim grumbled, shoved his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the amount. I snatched them before he could take it back and popped one into my mouth, keeping the rest in my hand.

I knew stories about each one of the people I called friends now. Slim claimed he knew the Fire Princess, Ursa, back when she lived in a place called Hira'a. Skill had broken both his ankles and wrists at the same time, which immobilized him for about three or four months. RJ had gotten two fish hooks stuck in her thumb at the same time (I didn't know when I heard that tale I'd later know someone else who was in a similar experience).

Slim leaned back against the wall, his hands folded across his stomach. "You know what, Shortie? You remind me of a certain Water Tribe warrior I fought back in the army."

"Really?" I asked, making a face. Great. He was comparing me to a Water Tribe scumbag. Was I really that bad?

The former soldier laughed at my reaction to that. "He wasn't a bad guy, but he would've been better if he had just been a Fire Nation man. Anyway, why I say that is because he was strong, intelligent, and very bad at protecting your snacks." Before I could even try to understand what that meant, he he lunged forward, setting the hem of my pants on fire. I squeaked and tried frantically to put it out. While I was distracted, he took the fire gummies back and shoved them into that black hole that he dared to call a mouth. When I realized this, I attacked, blinding him with my body. "RJ! Slim stole rightfully won food!"

It took RJ only five seconds to come to my aid. She didn't like to talk about how she wound up in jail, but she seemed to like me, at the least as a pet of some sort. She pulled me off the Firebender and forced him to his feet. "Give Shortie back the gummies." He didn't hesitate to throw four more over at me. Where did he get all these? I didn't know, but I didn't argue with it. I happily stuffed them into my mouth and swallowed.

Worst. Decision. Ever.

Fire gummies were hot. Very hot. Although I did like spicy stuff, eating four very hot things at the same time without even bothering to chew it was pushing even my limits. I almost literally breathed fire right then, though I did see some steam come out of my ears. My face turned red and hot and I sprinted over to the nearest bucket of clean water. I ducked my head in it, opening my mouth to drink the water. My face, mouth, and throat cooled slowly, and when I took my head out of it, hair soaking wet, the others were laughing. Well, Slim and Skill. Silver was smiling and RJ was simply glaring at Slim.

With that in mind, I tackled Slim.

* * *

Okay, so the fight didn't go half bad in my favor. The Firebender wasn't used to hand to hand fighting, more accustomed to using his Bending, so I had an edge in that as a Nonbender. I managed to get a few good punches to his "beloved face" before the fact he was in a brawl with me really sank in. In the end, I'd gotten out with a split lip, bruised ribs, a black eye, and a broken nose, but it hadn't been near as bad as the other guy.

Then again, that fight, although well fought, ended me with some time in solitary confinement, so I wasn't sure if it was a victory.

The front of my shirt was bloody thanks to my broken nose, but other than that, my clothes showed no sign of the little incident. I wiped my face off with my sleeve, sniffing. Tears leaked out my eyes and I blinked them away. I wasn't necessarily sad for my now disfigured nose, on the contrary it would give me a fierce look, but it sure hurt.

I wasn't expecting any company for a while, considering the fact that I was supposed to be in there for a day minimum, possibly longer. Call it cruel, which it was, but it was also pretty effective. No one likes to be alone, and I was no exception. Even when in my cell, I could still contact the others if I wanted to. I was surprised when the door opened and strong light shone down on me. I screwed my eyes and raised my hand to shield them. When they adjusted to the shine, I saw the last person I had expected to see.


End file.
